A Lesson Learned, Chapter 1

This is the sort of book that you begin and become immediately aware that something inside you is about to be irreversibly changed. But by the time you realize that, it's too late, so you might as well keep reading. Luckily the change you will find in yourself is one of heightened wisdom, empathy, and optimism. I've learned many many life-lessons from this book. I believe everyone can benefit from these, so I will share one (maybe two if the situation calls) from each chapter.

Chapter 1, Goodbye Daddy
Life lesson #1:
Our heroine's father is killed tragically in a car accident in the early pages of the book, and by page 17 young Cathy is already sick of good-intentioned funeral-goers (maybe like yourself?) saying things like, "Our days are numbered...that's the way it is, from the day we're born our days are numbered." Ain't it the truth, you might think but sometimes a simple tuna casserole is more than enough. In fatherless Cathy's own exasperated words, "Yet I hated it every time someone asked how he died, and what a pity when someone so young should die, when so many who were useless and unfit, lived on and on, and were a burden to society."

I've only been to two funerals but I've already made the mistake of saying both of those things. These pages helped me to remember that when you're consoling a friend, you have to be aware that everyone else is probably telling them the same thing, so you have to be more creative. How about a shoulder to cry on instead? Maybe a stuffed bear for hugging? A copy of Beaches on VHS? Sometimes words just aren't enough. Now I will be a more sensitive friend and funeral-goer. Thank you, book.